Former EastEnders star Samantha Womack has joined cast of Sky comedy, Mount Pleasant

It’s been reported today that former EastEnders star Samantha Womack has joined the cast of Sky Living comedy, Mount Pleasant, and will feature in the show’s third series.

Samantha, who of course played the role of Ronnie Branning on EastEnders, told Click Liverpool that she’s about to start filming for the show, which stars former Coronation Street actress Sally Lindsay as well as Daniel Ryan, Bobby Ball and Angela Griffin.

Digital Spy reports that she added, “And there may be a musical towards the end of this year, beginning of next, so that’ll keep me busy.”

Samantha has of course been starring in South Pacific since she left EastEnders in 2011, playing the role of Nellie Forbush on-stage. But during the interview, she also hinted that she could be about to star in a new film.

She said, “There’s a film in the back of my mind I’d quite like to get out there,” however, revealing some insecurities, Samantha added, “The older you get, the more sort of self-conscious and less comfortable in front of the camera you become.”

As we recently reported, Samantha has confessed that she suffers from what are often debilitating anxiety attacks, however, she added that the support that she receives from family and friends is helping her to control them.

When Samantha left EastEnders, it was speculated by some media outlets that she made the decision to quit the show in the wake of the backlash regarding the baby swap and cot death storyline which saw her character abduct Kat Moon’s (Jessie Wallace) baby after her own infant died.

Many viewers branded the storyline “unbelievable” while others accused the show of creating a fear that the scenario could in fact happen in real life, and in doing so, stigmatized parents who’d lost babies to SIDS.

Here’s a reminder of the controversial plotline…

Former EastEnders star Samantha Womack has joined cast of Sky comedy, Mount Pleasant